Heart Damage linked to obesity in kids
By: Will Hunter
Link: https://student.societyforscience.org/article/heart-damage-linked-obesity-kids
January 15, 2016
On November 10, 2015 an investigation examined by the Geisinger Health System in Danville have discovered that heart damage could be linked to obesity in kids from ages 8 to 18. Brandon Fornwalt and his team used MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) to take photos of 40 kids hearts. The children were between ages 8 to 18. Half of the children were obese and the other half had a healthy weight. From the MRI photos the team could see that 40 percent of the obese side had enlarged hearts that interfered with pumping blood to the rest of the body. The side with healthy weight had none of these problems. But it’s not in all obese children, it’s for the obese kids who sit on the couch all day. Since 1960 the obesity in kids has tripled this is warning to us to get a least 1 hour of activity a day. “As a society, we need to find ways to make sure these rates start dropping,” says Brandon Fornwalt.
This article grabbed my attention because it’s linked to kids. Obesity can be bad but I never knew that it could be linked to heart damage. I think I agree with what the scientists came up with because 40 percent doesn’t seem like a coincidence. This connects a little bit on what we are doing because the heart pumps blood to different parts of the body which makes our body grow. Kinda like a plant collects nutrients from the roots which creates the initial growths. This affects society huge because it shows how parents could take care of their kids better. Also, it is telling kids to get outside and exercise.
